"I showed them my middle finger" - Andrey Rublev recalls a hilarious incident when fans confused him for Jannik Sinner
Andrey Rublev recently shared a hilarious incident describing how some fans confused him for Jannik Sinner.
Rublev enjoyed a successful 2022 season, capturing four titles. The 25-year-old finished the season ranked No. 8 in the world with a 51-20 win-loss record.
While discussing that he often gets mistaken for a number of different players, the Russian recounted one such incident from this year's French Open. He stated that few Italian fans thought he was Jannik Sinner and that he was unable to convince them that he wasn't Sinner.
“I get mistaken for a lot of players - Shapovalov, Zverev, Tsitsipas, Sinner, so it's fun, yeah," Rublev told TV Start."Just this year, in Paris, during Roland Garros, some Italians started saying 'Sinner, Sinner'. I tell them, 'I'm not Sinner'. They continue: 'Yes, Sinner, Sinner', I go 'Honestly, I'm not Sinner, I'm telling you.'
"They go 'No, you're lying to us. Can we take a photo with you?" I tell them: "I'm not Sinner, stop it, get away from me'. They got annoyed, so I showed them the middle finger. Seems like Sinner disappointed them," added Andrey Rublev.
Rublev and Sinner faced off in the fourth round of the French Open this year, where the Italian retired due to injury.
"I didn't really get to rest after the season" - Andrey Rublev on his off-season
Andrey Rublev also admitted that he didn't get to rest during the off-season as he took part in two exhibition events in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi in December, following his semifinal run in the ATP Finals.
“This week is actually the only one and the last one where I can really put some work into practice, without holding back, and after that I'm flying to Australia,” said Andrey Rublev.
"If we take Turin, I lost the semifinal on Saturday, and already next Saturday I had my first practice, so I think 5 days or so. Think you need a balance, like everywhere. It's sh**ty when you're resting for a long time," he added.
The Russian explained that a player needs to balance their rest since playing excessively can affect their physical and emotional health. He stated that he utilized the free time he had during the season to rest. Rublev was barred access to Wimbledon due to the ban on all Russian and Belarusian players.
"But there are many players who like to take long vacation, several weeks, even during the season if there's a week off. I think you need a balance," he said. "But it's very bad when you're not resting at all, because you can exhaust yourself, yes, and get injured as well, and psychologically lose your mind as well. So you need a balance.
"In my case, well, I didn't really get to rest after the season, but thank God I had some time off during the season - there were a couple of times where I took a week off, even without tennis, so in some way that compensated the fact that I had almost no rest after the season," he added.